How to Stop the Memphis Bankruptcy Loop Bankruptcy is meant to be a fresh start and chance to rebuild your life. However, many people with debt find themselves re-filing bankruptcy in Memphis—and sometimes very soon after their last try. Here’s why that happens and what we’re doing to help people get out of debt for good. Memphis’ Reputation for Re-filing Bankruptcy A while back, ProPublica released a report about people filing repeat bankruptcies in Memphis. The area stood apart for this problem, and the data showed a few reasons why it might be happening. In particular, they found some bankruptcy attorneys failed to properly tell their clients the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 and Chapter 13
Families support one another, through both the smooth and not-so-great times. It is only understandable that a family would want to offer support for a cherished relative, especially if they need additional assistance because of a disability. State and federal law allows families to establish a special needs trust, to safeguard the disabled person’s government benefit eligibility while still allowing them to get financial support from their family. Writing a special needs trust can be confusing, but planning ahead with guidance from a lawyer can ensure that assets will be there for the loved one in need, while not risking the financial future of the rest of the family. Usually, to get government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
When Will Memphis Pit Bull Attacks Finally End? Recent news about a woman hospitalized by a pit bull attack in Memphis has shocked the community. It is one of the worst cases imaginable, and it left me personally wondering when these tragedies will finally end? Pit Bull Attack in Memphis: A Mother’s Desperate Fight According to local news sources, the tragedy began suddenly, when a family’s pit bulls attacked their two very young children. The dogs charged the 5-month-old Hollace and 2-year-old Lillie without warning. Their mother, 30-year-old Kirstie Bennard, fought back immediately. She threw herself between the children and the dogs and valiantly tried to save their lives in an attack that lasted about 10 minutes. In the end,
How Much Is a Memphis SSDI Lawyer? If you’re wondering “how much does a Memphis disability lawyer cost,” you’re not alone. The whole system can seem confusing at first. Here’s what you need to know about the real price of a lawyer, whether you can afford to go it alone, and what you should be getting for the money. Do You Even Need a Lawyer? If you can no longer work because of a disability, you can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance. The initial application can be a little daunting for some people, but most applicants prefer to do it themselves. For that initial application, you gather evidence of how and when your disability began and how it impacts
When Debt Collection for Old Debts Comes as a Shock At our firm this year, we’ve seen a rise in people experiencing surprise debt in Memphis and Shelby County. In other words, debt collectors come after people for debt they didn’t know they had. As a result, Memphians are losing their savings, homes, and peace of mind. Here’s what’s happening and what you can do to stop this problem. Case Example from Our Firm Let’s look at one of our clients as an example. We recently started working with a man who owed $15,000 in 2006. He couldn’t pay the debt at the time, so it went to collections. However, the creditors eventually decided not to pursue the debt anymore.
How Do the Lottery and SSDI Benefits Impact Each Other? A lot of people applying for SSDI want to know if playing or winning the lottery will affect your SSDI status. Here’s what you need to know from our Memphis Social Security Disability lawyers about the lottery and SSDI benefits. Can You Play the Lottery and Still Get SSDI Benefits? This is a commonly asked question. People receiving SSDI want to know the answer before they take a chance on the lottery. Others enjoy playing the lottery and worry it might impact their SSDI application. The good news is you can play the lottery and still receive benefits. Whether you’re in the process of applying or already receive SSDI, the
An Update on Our Memphis CPAP Lawsuit As you may already be aware, the injury attorneys at Darrell Castle & Associates are pursuing a Memphis CPAP lawsuit against the manufacturer of CPAP machines, which have caused: lung cancer severe lung damage or lung disease respiratory failure acute respiratory distress and even death. We would like to update you on the case and some recent news about the faulty devices. A Long and Scary Wait for New Machines After Phillips CPAP machines broke down and released toxic foam particles into untold thousand of people’s lungs, the company recalled millions of machines. As a result, for many months people languished without any treatment for their sleep apnea and other breathing issues. For
Links Between Anxiety Disorders and Creditor Harassment As a Memphis bankruptcy lawyer, I’ve seen creditors come after people using every tactic in the book. But sometimes those tactics can cause real and lasting damage. If you have anxiety over creditor harassment, you’re not alone—and we can help. The Power Imbalance Between Creditors and Yourself Creditor harassment isn’t local to Memphis or even the United States. Over the centuries, creditors have made people’s lives horribly difficult. In fact, we used to have debtors’ prisons, where people who couldn’t pay their debts languished in jail. In general, creditors today still have a lot more power than people in debt. Debt collection companies are funded by large corporations who’ve sent them to get
Memphis Camp Lejeune Cases Under Way Our Memphis Camp Lejeune cases are moving forward every day. Here’s more information about whether you might qualify for compensation and how I might be able to help. Memphis Camp Lejeune Cases: Understanding the Basics Camp Lejeune is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where men and women have served with the US military for over 80 years. From the period of August 1952 and December 1987, over one million people served there in some capacity. During that time, they were likely exposed to toxic VOCs—extremely dangerous chemicals—via contaminated water on the base. This year, the government finally set aside $6 billion to help people who got sick or died
SSA Announces Major Cost of Living Increase for SSDI Benefits SSDI benefits are about to go up at an historic rate. The SSA has announced recipients will see an 8.7% increase in their monthly benefit in 2023. It’s the highest increase in forty years. Here’s what it means for you. How the Cost of Living Adjustment Works Every year, the SSA looks at the cost of living and makes changes to SSDI benefits based on the economy. This is called a “cost of living adjustment,” or COLA. For people living on a fixed income, inflation and regular increases in the cost of living can make it really hard to keep up. COLA addresses this problem by changing the benefits as